As I first told you back in June, Tessa Barrera started filling in on Sunny 99.1 KODA, and now it looks like that is a permanent job.
Barrera is the new weekday 3 to 7pm afternoon host.
She takes over for afternoon host Chris Davis, who, along with Midday host Amanda Flores and overnight DJ Madison Reeves, was laid off last month.
Barrera departed KPRC 2's Houston Life in March 2026 after three years as co-host of the station's weekday 1 p.m. lifestyle show, telling viewers she wanted to be more available for her family while she figured out the next chapter of her career.
A Corpus Christi native, Barrera officially joined Houston Life in July 2023 alongside Derrick Shore after spending several months as a guest co-host following Courtney Zavala's exit.
She first arrived in Houston in 2019 after being selected through a nationwide search to join KODA's iHeartMedia sister station 94.5 The Buzz KTBZ as a member of The Rod Ryan Show. For more than a year, she balanced both her radio and television roles before leaving the morning radio show in December 2024 to focus exclusively on Houston Life.
Prior to moving to Houston, Barrera worked in Los Angeles as a news anchor and executive producer at KFI AM 640.
She began her broadcasting career in South Texas, working at KRIS 6 and KZTV Action 10 News in Corpus Christi, where she became the first Latina sports anchor in the region. During her time there, she covered the Corpus Christi Hooks, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders, Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas, and numerous high school sports programs.
